Calls for poison warnings on energy drinks

An increase in reports of caffeine poisoning in young people has led to calls for health warnings on energy drinks.

But the industry says consumers need to take personal responsibility, saying energy drinks are already marked as containing caffeine.

Research published in the Medical Journal of Australia shows 65 people called the New South Wales Poisons Centre with problems caused by energy drinks in 2010, up from 12 people in 2004.

The average caller was 17 years old, and in some cases callers reported hallucinations, seizures and heart problems.

The study found symptoms were most frequently reported when energy drinks were being used for recreational use by teenagers and young adults. Co-ingestants included alcohol, caffeine tablets and illicit substances.

But symptoms were also reported when the drinks were consumed at the manufacture-recommended level.

Poisons Centre medical director Dr Naren Gunja says it is difficult to say how much caffeine is too much.

"It's quite variable. It depends on the person and their size. Someone small can handle less caffeine than somebody else, but also two people of the same size, they may have different sensitivities to caffeine," he said.

"People think energy drinks are fine because of packaging and branding, but they're jut as bad as 20 cups of coffee."

"Things to look at would be in terms of how much caffeine do these drinks contain; how many can you buy at once; what age should you be when you buy them; should there be an age limit to being sold the drinks," he said.

"In terms of labelling regulation, how much caffeine is actually in this particular drink that you're about to drink; if something happens to you, where do you call?"

He says the drinks' packaging should also include more information.

"I think this is going to increase, and I think it should be more regulated than it is currently," Dr Gunja said.

"The phone number of the poisons centre could be on the back of the can so that if an adverse effect were to happen, the person would know who to call.

"There should be clear labelling on the energy drinks about caffeine content and what it can do to you."

The Australian Medical Association has echoed the call for all energy drinks to carry warning labels.

'Personal responsibility'

The Australian Beverages Council says energy drinks in Australia are already the most heavily regulated in the world.

"Personal responsibility needs to be considered, and trying to regulate against the lack of a common sense or over-consumption of a perfectly safe product by 0.00001 per cent of the population isn't a position supported by the industry," council chief executive Geoff Parker said in a statement.

Mr Parker said consumers already had adequate information because the drinks were already labelled as carrying caffeine.

He said the amount of caffeine in Australian energy drinks was comparable to that in "a common cup of coffee".

"If indeed caffeine over-consumption is the concern of the researchers, then the proposed review of labelling and sale provisions should be extended for all cups of coffee, pots of tea and all chocolate bars," Mr Parker said.